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How to hire a health insurance specialist

Health insurance specialist hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring health insurance specialists in the United States:

  • There are a total of 11,091 health insurance specialists in the US, and there are currently 103,880 job openings in this field.
  • The median cost to hire a health insurance specialist is $1,633.
  • Small businesses spend $1,105 per health insurance specialist on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
  • HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
  • Los Angeles, CA, has the highest demand for health insurance specialists, with 4 job openings.

How to hire a health insurance specialist, step by step

To hire a health insurance specialist, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire a health insurance specialist, you should follow these steps:

Here's a step-by-step health insurance specialist hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write a health insurance specialist job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new health insurance specialist
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a health insurance specialist do?

A health insurance specialist uses electronic records of patients to evaluate insurance claims and code medical procedures. They are often hired by healthcare facilities to deal with the health insurance of patients. Therefore, they are responsible for medical records, co-payment details, and payment and billing details. Most hospitals and health care facilities employ the services of a health insurance specialist to ensure they are paid promptly and to clear all outstanding charges owed to the facility.

Learn more about the specifics of what a health insurance specialist does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    First, determine the employments status of the health insurance specialist you need to hire. Certain health insurance specialist roles might require a full-time employee, whereas others can be done by part-time workers or contractors.

    Determine employee vs contractor status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a health insurance specialist to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a health insurance specialist that fits the bill.

    Here's a comparison of health insurance specialist salaries for various roles:

    Type of Health Insurance SpecialistDescriptionHourly rate
    Health Insurance SpecialistInsurance sales agents help insurance companies generate new business by contacting potential customers and selling one or more types of insurance. Insurance sales agents explain various insurance policies and help clients choose plans that suit them.$21-38
    AgentAgents are individuals who are employed by their clients to represent them in various dealings. Agents are usually employed by people in the show business industry, such as actors, writers, or directors... Show more$9-34
    Field AgentField agents are the ones who work and do their job not inside the four corners of the office; instead, they do the assigned task outside. They often are expected to have good communication skills so that they can get a response from the most unwilling person in the area... Show more$12-24
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Patients
    • Medicaid
    • CMS
    • Health Insurance
    • HIPAA
    • Insurance Coverage
    • HHS
    • Insurance Eligibility
    • Data Entry
    • Insurance Policies
    • Phone Calls
    • Customer Service
    • Technical Assistance
    • Policy Issues
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Manage communication points between corporate advisers, providers and patients for medical service advisory requests.
    • Handle diverse phone calls and confidential information following all HIPAA guidelines.
    • Proofread and issue travel documents.
    • Proofread policy material concerning insurance programs and substantiate computations premiums due.
    • Evaluate the effectiveness of existing policies and review new policy and legislative initiatives for potential impact on Medicaid programs.
    • Participate in and provide specific and detail information regarding operational policy, instructions, and procedures for Medicaid programs.
    More health insurance specialist duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in your health insurance specialist job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A health insurance specialist can vary based on:

    • Location. For example, health insurance specialists' average salary in west virginia is 40% less than in wisconsin.
    • Seniority. Entry-level health insurance specialists 46% less than senior-level health insurance specialists.
    • Certifications. A health insurance specialist with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
    • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a health insurance specialist's salary.

    Average health insurance specialist salary

    $60,601yearly

    $29.14 hourly rate

    Entry-level health insurance specialist salary
    $44,000 yearly salary
    Updated December 22, 2025

    Average health insurance specialist salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1Wisconsin$91,037$44
    2New York$86,550$42
    3District of Columbia$78,667$38
    4Massachusetts$74,269$36
    5New Hampshire$73,897$36
    6California$73,171$35
    7Alaska$72,909$35
    8Alabama$72,545$35
    9Rhode Island$72,543$35
    10Colorado$71,428$34
    11Texas$68,557$33
    12Michigan$68,181$33
    13Minnesota$67,754$33
    14Pennsylvania$66,126$32
    15South Carolina$64,008$31
    16Florida$63,939$31
    17Maryland$63,447$31
    18North Carolina$61,935$30
    19Indiana$60,871$29
    20Arkansas$60,608$29

    Average health insurance specialist salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rateJob openings
    1Seedco$76,365$36.71
    2US Oncology Holdings Inc$76,349$36.718
    3Columbia University in the City of New York$74,480$35.811
    4Addison Group$71,886$34.569
    5Healthcare Solutions Team$69,718$33.52
    6Duke University Health System$69,379$33.362
    7Asurea$69,296$33.32266
    8Concentrix$64,989$31.245
    9Randstad North America, Inc.$62,969$30.276
    10Foundation Communities$57,178$27.493
    11HHS.gov$42,601$20.48
    12Balance Staffing$35,004$16.83
  4. Writing a health insurance specialist job description

    A job description for a health insurance specialist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a health insurance specialist job description:

    Health insurance specialist job description example

    Coordinates and assists in reimbursement for services provided. Accurately files insurance claims for the purpose of settling claims with insurance carrier.

    Handles all electronic billing functions. Verifies accuracy of billing data and revises any errors. Operates typing, adding, calculating, and billing software. Prepares itemized statements, bills, or invoices; and records amounts due for services rendered. Performs data entry work, including posting charges and keeping other records concerning patient charges. Keeps records of supporting documents. Resolves discrepancies in accounting records. Types billing documents, processes credits using computers. Contacts patients in order to obtain or relay account information. Computes rates for services in order to complete billing documents. Electronic claim filing. Maintains electronic filing system. Process new insurance policies, modifications to existing policies, and claims forms. Obtain information from policyholders to verify the accuracy and completeness of information on claims forms, applications and related documents, and company records. Update existing policies and company records to reflect changes requested by policyholders and insurance company representatives. Maintains knowledge of current government and/or carrier regulations relevant to industry. Follows-up on outstanding accounts and makes proper notations in billing software. Work denials and appeals for all insurance carriers. Reviews information for follow-up on primary and secondary insurances to file, re-file, or appeal claims. Resolves billing issues by correctly answering questions, determining & recommending how outstanding accounts should be further processed, and providing appropriate follow-up on issues.
    Qualifications:

    High School diploma

    Medical terminology preferred

    Prior Home Health and/or Hospice billing experience preferred.

    Customer service experience required

    Experience working with computers

    Typing experience, 45 WPM

    Benefits:

    We are excited to offer an aggressive compensation and benefits package for qualifying positions, which includes:

    + Competitive base pay

    + Matching 401(k) and 403(b) retirement programs, with on-site personal investment counseling

    + Health, Dental and Vision plans

    + Health Savings and Flexible Spending Accounts

    + Employee discounts including car rental, cell-phone plans

    + Employer-paid, Long- term disability

    + Employer-paid, Life and AD&D

    + Paid time off (PTO)

    + Tuition reimbursement

    + Employee Assistance Program

    + Employee Referral Bonus Program

    + Discounted cafeteria meals

    + Free employee gym membership

    + Employee Service Recognition program

    + Voluntary plans including: Life, AD&D, Critical Illness, Accident and Pet insurance

    COVID-19 Mandate

    As a healthcare employer, Great River Health is adhering to CMS regulation requiring COVID-19 vaccination for health care workers.

    As such, we are requiring all new hires and employees to show proof of being fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or receive an approved accommodation by their date of hire, as a condition of employment.

    As we continue to navigate the ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic, we remain committed to doing our part to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of our team members and our communities. Proof of vaccination or accommodations requests will be collected once an offer is accepted with Great River Health. All accommodation requests will be carefully considered but are not guaranteed to be approved.

    Great River Health and its affiliates are Equal Opportunity employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, national origin, mental or physical disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.
  5. Post your job

    To find the right health insurance specialist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

    • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
    • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with health insurance specialists they would recommend.
    • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit health insurance specialists who meet your education requirements.
    • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.
    To find health insurance specialist candidates, you can consider the following options:
    • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
    • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as salesjobs, salesheads, allretailjobs.com, sales trax.
    • Post your job on free job posting websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    Recruiting health insurance specialists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

    It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new health insurance specialist

    Once you have selected a candidate for the health insurance specialist position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

    It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

    To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a health insurance specialist?

Recruiting health insurance specialists involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.

You can expect to pay around $60,601 per year for a health insurance specialist, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for health insurance specialists in the US typically range between $21 and $38 an hour.

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